Pope Francis in List of 100 Most Influential People in the World

The prestigious TIME magazine, in its May 5 and May 12, 2014 issue, includes Our Holy Father Pope Francis in the list of the 100 most influential people in the world today.. The brief and comprehensive write-up on him was written by the 44th US president Barack Obama who is not a Catholic.

I am reproducing here Obama’s significant words  as a backdrop to a few irreverent, hostile and fanatical comments in the internet of some Catholics who wrongly believe the pope is the anti-christ mentioned in the Holy Biblle. There are even media reports on these people who said the Pope Francis will be killed when he goes to the Holy Land next week. Here’s Obama:

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POPE FRANCIS

A Moral Leader

in word and deed

Rare is the leader who makes us want to be better people. Pope Francis is such a leader.

His Holiness has moved us with his message of inclusion, especially for the poor, the marginalized and the outcast. But it has been his deeds, his bearing, the gestures at once simple and profound–embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners–that have inspired us all.

Pope Francis reminds us in ways that words alone cannot that no matter our station in life, we are bound by moral obligations to one another. His example challenges us to live out those obligations through work–to alleviate poverty, reduce inequality and promote peace; to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and open new doors of opportunity and visions of possibility for everyone. His message of love and inclusion, his regards for “the least of these,” distills the essence of Jesus’ teachings and is a tonic for a cynical age. May we heed his humble example.